Snippets Of What Could Have Been
by DeimosFire99
Summary: Dean notices something that Chuck wrote down. He asks about it... but gets an answer that plays on one of his most deepest wishes yet. Castiel knows he and Dean shared a bond too important for a broken heart to break, so keeps silent and lets everything come to play. Or does he?
1. What Could Be

**Hi guys! Here's another DESTIEL fic for all of you! Sorry if there is lack of emotion or wrong grammar or something or other... this was written from 11:00pm to 1:45 am... i am tired. imma sorry. Hope you enjoy though! :))**

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**Snippets of What Could Have Been**

It was supposed to be just a Wendigo in California.

It was _supposed _to be _just _a Wendigo.

Dean groaned as Chuck led Sam and Dean into his new apartment, all the while chatting with Sam—stuttering seems more appropriate on Chuck's part—about the latest visions he'd been having about the two boys. At first, Dean was listening, as it pertained to something about Castiel and their profound bond, yadda, yadda, yadda… but then he tuned them out once the two of them started talking about their past adventures; Sam's spat with Ruby, Dean's thing with Anna, the wraith at the psychiatric ward they once killed, yadda, yadda, yadda...

Yeah, not _that_ important at the moment…

Chuck opened the door to his apartment—a homey three-roomed loft with a medium-sized TV, a kitchen with a marble counter, and two bedrooms and a bathroom.

Dean put down the grocery bags on the dining table near the counter and helped himself to the TV while Sam and Chuck put the groceries away. He was about to make himself comfortable on the couch when he felt a bunch of papers crumple beneath him.

"Chuck!" Dean grabbed the papers and unceremoniously dumped them on the coffee table in front of him. "Leave your papers out of my ass!"

"For the record, Dean, that _is _my couch." Chuck stuttered from the kitchen behind Dean. The hunter only snorted as he turned on the TV. He started channel surfing and was just about to settle on an old rerun of Dr. Sexy when a word from one of the papers caught his eye:

"Destiel?" Dean read, aloud. He put down the remote and was about to grab the paper when a crash came from the kitchen.

"Don't!" Chuck yelled. He ran out of the kitchen, his hair slightly caked in flour. Sam followed him, his shoes caked with the stuff. He grabbed the paper Dean was reaching out for, along with the entire messy pile on the table, and rushed to his room. He came out several seconds later with a key in hand. He shut the door and locked it, and pressed himself against it as if trying to guard some precious secret.

"What?!" Dean shouted, perplexed. Chuck swallowed visibly and tucked the key in his pocket.

"It's… uh… n-not for y-you to read!" Chuck stuttered. He shuffled to the kitchen and started to sweep up the flour that he dropped in his haste to protect the papers.

"What the hell was that about?" Sam asked, shaking off the flour that clung to his shoes. Dean shrugged. He eyed Chuck suspiciously as he bustled about the kitchen, packing away his groceries. Dean heard the occasional mutter of "stupid" and "not his" or "just a daydream".

"What was 'just a daydream'?" Dean questioned, his eyes narrowing when he saw Chuck falter. But Chuck only continued, if not faster. Sam raised a brow.

"What brings you by?" he asked, not answering the question. He was finished now, now he was bringing out three beers, a frying pan and oil. He brought out a frozen bag of fries from the freezer and dumped it in a big bowl of water.

"Uh… nothing, really," Sam said. "We just wanted to check up on you… and the Supernatural books."

Chuck visibly paled at the mention of the books. Dean was at his limit at this bullshit.

"Chuck, cut the crap. What was on those papers? Why are you acting all… weird?" Sam gave him a look. "Well… weirder than normal?"

Chuck huffed at that, but he didn't answer. Instead he muttered, "You already hate my dreams at night, why the hell should I tell you what I dream in the day?"

"Wait… what?" Dean was at a loss, now. Sam was also lost at Chuck's vague answer.

"I believe I can explain."

Sam and Dean turned around at the sound of Castiel's voice. The angel was standing behind Dean, his blue-eyed stare making Dean fidget slightly. Sam asked:

"Please do," Sam said, flopping down on the couch. He propped his feet up on the coffee table while Chuck just sighed. He returned to the kitchen to get the stove going.

"I believe Chuck has been seeing visions of the future in his daydreams." Castiel said, settling himself on a vacant chair beside the couch. Dean sat on the arm of the couch.

"Yeah," Dean snorted. "Like that's something new,"

Castiel sighed, "You misunderstand; Chuck receives solid visions of the future about _you_ while he _sleeps_. The visions he receives during his waking moments are not uncommon for prophets like him."

"What do you mean 'prophets like him'?" Sam asked, he leaned forward, clearly engrossed in the topic now.

"Prophets are mouthpieces and conduits for the inspired word," Castiel said. Dean noted that he only repeated his definition of what a prophet was during the first time they met Chuck. "High-ranking angels choose them, but only if the potential had already resided within that individual."

"So you're telling us," Sam summed up; he pointed to Chuck in the kitchen, frying French fries. "That Chuck was already a psychic before he was chosen?"

"Not necessarily, it could be possible that his potential laid dormant. It could have been so until his death if the angels had not chosen him." Castiel said. "When they anointed him as a Prophet of the Lord, his powers were, as you say, 'jump-started'."

"Woah, hold up." Dean held up his hands. "I just wanted to know what the hell was on that paper. To be frank, I don't give a crap about what Chuck _was._"

"I resent that!" His voice yelled from the kitchen. Dean only snorted. Castiel tilted his head in question, but Dean only waved it away.

"So what's your point?" Dean asked.

"My point is, Dean, what Chuck has written on those papers were bits and pieces of _possible_ futures. Do you understand?" Castiel said.

Dean was silent. Castiel suppressed a sigh.

"The future is not set in stone." Castiel began, Dean snorted. Castiel sent him a pointed look. "_But _the visions a prophet receives from the Heavenly Host _almost_ always comes to pass, as Sam demonstrated when he denied Lilith's sexual advances."

Chuck had just come back with a tray of fries and beer. When Castiel said 'sexual advances', Dean just about choked on his drink. Sam pounded him on the back as Dean expelled the liquor from his lungs.

"_What?_"Dean said eyes wide.

Castiel did his head-tilt thing again, one Dean couldn't deny was cute.

_Wait, cute?_

"Did Lilith not attempt to seduce Sam in your motel room?" Castiel inquired innocently. Now it was Sam's turn to choke on his beer. Chuck chuckled while Dean full-on chortled while he pounded Sam's back.

"C-Cas!" Sam stammered, wiping the beer from his lips.

"Continue, please." Chuck said, he was smiling now, but his eyes continued to dart to his locked bedroom door with anxiety.

"Okay," Castiel said, his eyes lingering over at Dean's for a moment longer before concentrating on Chuck. "The visions that Chuck wrote down on those papers were visions of possible futures. For example: say you did not stop over last night on the way here; you would have taken a break at the local diner a few blocks from here and seduced a black-haired waitress named Jenna. You then would have taken her to her apartment, which just so happened to be on the floor above us, and proceeded to copulate with her."

Now Chuck just laughed. Sam laughed alongside him while Dean looked at Castiel in horror.

"_Copulate?_"

"Yes, Dean. Is that not the proper term?"

Sam and Chuck had stopped laughing. But at Castiel's head-tilt and Dean's bewildered expression, they cracked up again.

"Oh, shut up, you two." Dean said, throwing some French fries at them. "How would you even know that, Cas?"

Now Castiel was never one to express emotion except for confusion when he is encountered with something that is beyond his understanding. But now, Dean swore Castiel _blushed_.

"I keep a close eye on the possible futures that Chuck sees." He answered. But Dean could tell there was more to the story.

"And…?" Dean prompted. Now Dean _knows_ Castiel is blushing. Sam notices this too because he leans forward, beer forgotten.

"Cas, is there something you're not telling us?"Sam said, trying to make his voice soft.

Castiel seemed like he wasn't going to answer, but he merely sighed. "I have read some very… _interesting_ probabilities involving you and me, Dean."

Dean's heart flipped and he suppressed a blush. Sam began to smirk as he leaned back and sipped from his beer. Chuck just looked plain uncomfortable.

"Involved how?" Dean probed.

Castiel's ears turned pink, and Dean suppressed a moan at how _hot _Cas looked right now; lips slightly parted and face all red… and that goddamn _sex hair_. Dean could feel a stirring in his nether regions.

"Some of Chuck's visions point to a future where… you and I… we…" Castiel couldn't find the right words, so he cleared his throat and tried again.

"Some of Chuck's visions point to a future where you and I are involved… erotically." Castiel finally said, but he almost seemed sad. Dean's breath hitched and Sam's smirk faded, and it was replaced with a look of questioning.

Dean was silent, but his mind was racing with a thousand scenarios, not all of them involving Castiel with his clothes on.

"Dean?" Castiel probed.

Dean snapped out of his stupor. He smiled a small smile for Cas as he finished his beer.

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah! I mean, come on… it's just one _possible _future, right? It doesn't happen?"

Yep, Dean was an idiot. But the hunter couldn't find it in himself to be selfish and just _take_ Cas. The angel was special to him, and he didn't want to take Cas if Cas didn't want him.

Castiel lost all traces of the blush that previously adorned his face. His mouth was closed now, and it was set in a firm line. Sam was shocked at Dean's words while Chuck… well, Chuck left as soon as Castiel said the word 'erotically'.

"No, it does not happen. And I believe that it will _never_ happen. Even if another probability of similar nature should arise, we know now that it will never come to pass." Castiel said, the monotone back in his voice, though Dean could sense a sharp undercurrent in the angel's tone.

"Cas, I—" Dean began. But Castiel waved him off.

"I must go now, Dean, Sam. It was a rather… _interesting_ visit. I shall see you soon." Castiel emphasized the word 'interesting', as he stared at Dean while saying so. Sam just nodded numbly as Cas disappeared in a sound of rustling feathers.

Dean and Sam sat staring at the space where Cas was. Sam was the first to snap out of his stupor by chugging down his beer and standing up.

"Nice job, Dean." He commented. Dean still said nothing as he stared at the place where Castiel had been sitting.

.

.

.

.

.

.

_God, what have I done?_

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**_NOW THE ULTIMATE QUESTION:_ **Should I put a sequel? :3


	2. What Will Be

**HEY GUYS! Here's the sequel. Thanks so much to _chomnom_ and _AsterousBabs_ for pushing me to write it! :D**

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**Snippets of What Could Have Been**

Castiel was confused.

Never before has he encountered such a bizarre mix of emotions stirring inside his chest. It was a mixture of the dark churning of anger, the stinging pain of hurt, the heavy cloud of sadness and… something else. It felt like the beating heart of his vessel was hurting, like it was constricting with a phantom pain—yes, it was a phantom pain for the angel diagnosed himself shortly after experiencing it for the first time—that left him short of breath. However, after searching through human resources, he boiled it all down to one emotion: heartbreak.

Castiel was confused because he had expected this outcome to occur once he, or Dean, broached the topic about Chuck's alternative visions. The angel had expected Dean to take it in stride and bury the discovery, or react with disgust. He had steeled himself mentally for Dean's reaction.

But he forgot to steel himself emotionally.

Now, Castiel sat on the top of the Empire State Building, one of humanity's greatest monuments. It was breathtaking for the angel to see how much humanity has thrived since the fall of Adam and Eve, since the fall of the Tower of Babel, since the tricking of the Serpent… they all managed to pick themselves up and continue living… _without_ the aid of the supernatural.

The angel knows what he did wrong. He lied to the hunter. Well, not _lied, _per se… more like revealed the truth in an incomplete manner. Yes, Castiel saw Chuck's vision of Dean and he involved erotically… but what he saw in most of Chuck's visions was their involvement in a _romantic _manner… _intimate._

The blue-eyed man perched on the balcony of the building did not deny to himself of his budding affection for the elder Winchester. He had expected it after he raised the man from perdition. After all, he and Dean _did_ share a profound bound after Cas used a minute portion of his grace to knit Dean back together after his soul had been corrupted by the fires of Hell.

The angel sighed. He had to return to Dean and apologize. Yes, that's what he would do; he would apologize for making Dean uncomfortable with the realization that in other futures, he and Castiel would be… in _love. _Then Castiel would leave and watch Dean pick himself up and move on with his life, because that is one of the things humanity does best: pick themselves up and keep moving forward.

Castiel didn't pause to think about the toll it would take on himself. He didn't pause to think about the heartbreak he would feel every time he saw Dean… because Dean now knows that in another life, they could be together… and yet he would continue strutting around bars and brothels like that didn't matter to him. Castiel didn't stop to think about the pain of Dean knowing that a possible future of having one, solid relationship can occur, and yet he would choose prostitutes and hookers over _one_ lover.

Nope, he only thought about helping Dean, because they shared a bond too important for a broken heart to break.

Castiel appeared to them five days after the incident at Chuck's apartment. He found Dean and Sam at a motel near the Arizona border. Apparently, they had been investigating a nest of vampires when Dean demanded pie before starting the hunt.

Dean just about choked on his pie when he saw Cas appear behind him, blue eyes boring into Dean's back. The tension in the room immediately grew thick. Sam excused himself, saying that they needed more shampoo (or something or other), grabbed the keys to the Impala, and went outside.

Once the rev of the engine faded into the distance, Dean looked at Cas, a sheepish smile forming on his face.

"Hey, Cas."

"Hello, Dean." The angel replied. The angel felt a pang of hurt at Dean's smile; did the hunter think this was a joke?

"Listen, I—" Dean began, but the angel cut him off.

"I apologize." Cas said, his eyes downcast. Dean raised his eyebrows in question.

"For what?" Dean asked, confused.

"For my untimely revelation about the possible futures involving the both of us engaged in a roman—erotic relationship."

_Ohhhh, no._

Dean's eyes narrowed. "Cas, were you about to say 'romantic'?"

"No." Cas answered immediately, but his darting eyes gave him away.

"You know you're a terrible liar, Cas. Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Dean demanded, his green eyes brimming with Castiel thought to be indignation.

Now, throughout this whole conversation, Castiel kept a close tab on the storm of emotions churning inside him. But at Dean's last comment, the angel could not control the feeling of "heartbreak" anymore; so he sighed, looked at Dean square in eye, and said:

"Because you prefer choosing the prostitutes and hookers you find at brothels and bars instead of a solid relationship wherein one may give love and receive love in return." Cas almost spat out, his normally stoic expression morphed into one of anger and hurt. Dean flinched and his eyes widened in shock.

"What are you—?" Dean began, only to have the man cut him off once more.

"I did not share with you the fact that we are involved romantically in the other futures because I am aware that you do not wish to be _committed—_" Dean could hear the quotation marks when Castiel said "committed", "—to a single person. I am also aware that you do not wish to be with another male, as it is frowned upon in most societies."

_Where did that come from? _thought Castiel as he continued to rant. But as Cas continued, he realized that everything he was saying were conclusions that he had drawn from previous observations based on Dean's past relationships and emotional epiphanies.

"But most of all, I did not share that information with you because I value our friendship too much as it is. I did not tell you for it might make us 'awkward'—" Now, Cas did quote "awkward"."—and it might jeopardize the fragile friendship and cooperative relationship we have developed over time!"

Dean just stared at the angel, whose face was flushed red and chest heaving, his green eyes wide in astonishment at a rare display of emotion. Castiel could feel the tension in the room grow thicker once more as the silence stretched on. Castiel cleared his throat.

"Dean, I apologize, I didn't mean to—" now it was Castiel's turn to be cut off as a pair of soft, but slightly chapped lips, met his own.

"Damn, that was hot." Dean said, a small smirk tugging at the edge of his lips. Castiel smirked back and attacked Dean's lips once more, his hands already tugging at the hunter's shirt. Dean grinned.

An unspoken promise went between the two men as they shared the night in passion; they promised to be each others' rock, they promised to be whatever the other needed to be: friend, lover, brother, hunter-in-arms… but most of all, they promised to be with each other, to never let go.

Yes, Castiel could get used to this.

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_**ANOTHER ULTIMATE QUESTION**_**: **Do you want a sort-of bonus!sequel?


	3. What Is and Shall Never Be

**FOR ALL THOSE LOOKING FOR A sort-of FEELZ ENDING, READ ON:**

**Here's that sort-of bonus!sequel for all the readers out there who wanted it! I apologize if it isn't what you expect, but this is what i came up with on my high.. :3 HOPE YOU LIKE IT! R&R! :D**

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**Snippets Of What Could Have Been**

Chuck snapped himself out from his reverie as the dream faded. He groaned at what he had just witnessed… _again_.

"Damn it, Dean." Chuck groaned. He immediately grabbed a pen and paper and wrote down the daydream he had just witnessed. He was about to finish when a fluttering of wings caught his attention.

"Cas, is that you?" Chuck called out, fear creeping into his voice.

"Yes, Chuck." The prophet sighed in relief once he heard the angel's deep voice. But he began to fidget as he felt Castiel's piercing gaze burn a hole through his back.

"What can I do for you?" the prophet asked haltingly, finally turning around to look at the angel. The blue-eyed man stood stiffly, but his face was slightly red. Chuck suppressed a bout of nervous laughter.

"I believe you have had another vision of me and Dean. Am I correct?" The angel said, his monosyllabic voice not betraying the fire burning in his veins when he saw Dean and him fuck—being intimate.

The prophet nodded, and Cas sighed.

"Okay, thank you, Chuck."

But as Castiel was about to fly away to God-knows-where, Chuck spoke up:

"What are you gonna do?" he asked, hesitantly, as if he didn't want to know the answer. For a moment, Castiel looked helpless, like even he was clueless about what he was going to do. But in the end, he steeled himself, and replied:

"I will continue doing my duty. And if the future does not contain me and Dean together, I will still continue." He said, solemnly. Chuck looked at Cas in sympathy, but the angel left after his statement and Chuck was left alone with his daydreams.

"Poor guy," Chuck sighed. He really did feel sorry for the angel. Castiel would have to deal with the knowledge of the possibility that he and Dean could be together… but would have to act nonchalant and let it all play out without angelic intervention. Right now, Cas was as helpless to a higher Will as any other mortal.

Yeah, that sucks.


End file.
